Life of Pi

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Pi Patel is sixteen when his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship. The ship sinks, and Pi is left alone on a lifeboat, his only companions stranded zoo animals: a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger dispatches all but Pi; his fear, knowledge, and cunning must guide him to coexist with the tiger for 227 days at sea.

First published ten years ago, Life of Pi took the world by storm, selling millions of copies and hitting every major bestseller list. Now, timed to coincide with the anticipated 3-D feature film directed by Ang Lee and starring Tobey Maguire, comes a movie tie-in edition of the book with millions of devoted fans, including Barack Obama, who called it "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling."

Review:

"Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction." Los Angeles Times Book Review

Review:

"A gripping adventure story....Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it's a book by an extraordinary talent." San Jose Mercury News

Review:

Review:

"An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki, and a hilarious shaggy-dog story....This audacious novel manages to be all of these." The New Yorker

Review:

"Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel." Chicago Tribune

Review:

"Life of Pi is a real adventure: brutal, tender, expressive, dramatic, and disarmingly funny....It's difficult to stop reading when the pages run out." San Francisco Chronicle

Synopsis:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK of 2002

Pi Patel, a God-loving boy and the son of a zookeeper, has a fervent love of stories and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family and their zoo animals emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship. Alas, the ship sinks — and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi. Can Pi and the tiger find their way to land? Can Pi's fear, knowledge, and cunning keep him alive until they do?

About the Author

Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963 of Canadian parents. After studying philosophy at university, he worked at odd jobs — tree-planter, dishwasher, security guard — and traveled widely before turning to writing at the age of twenty-six. He is the author of a collection of short stories; three novels, including the internationally acclaimed 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi, which spent fifty-seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and Beatrice and Virgil; and a collection of letters to the Prime Minister of Canada, What is Stephen Harper Reading? Yann Martel lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 7 comments:

Gomma, January 31, 2013 (view all comments by Gomma)
I heard from friends that it was good. I didn't read that much at that time but this book brought me "back" to reading again.
It doesn't matter what is your faith, it's really about the human condition. What you believe and what you choose to believe.
Love the writing and the description of every feeling and situation. So colorful, so alive.

I'm happy I read the book before the movie.
The movie is beautiful. The book? It's even better.

michelle.lohn, January 30, 2013 (view all comments by michelle.lohn)
A bit difficult to get into; the beginning wanders and I didn't see the point.
Once I got past that, I was fascinated. The ending left me with interesting questions about how I perceive reality. Discussing conclusions with others who have read the book adds even more dimensions to the Life of Pi experience.

Sylvia Lindsay, January 30, 2013 (view all comments by Sylvia Lindsay)
This was a departure from my usual reading habits. It caught my interest at the very beginning and kept it throughout. Pi goes through an awful experience, and does what he must to survive. It's unsettling and emotion wracking to take this ride, but worth it.

"Review"
by The New Yorker,
"An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki, and a hilarious shaggy-dog story....This audacious novel manages to be all of these."

"Review"
by Chicago Tribune,
"Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel."

"Review"
by San Francisco Chronicle,
"Life of Pi is a real adventure: brutal, tender, expressive, dramatic, and disarmingly funny....It's difficult to stop reading when the pages run out."

"Synopsis"
by Firebrand,
NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK of 2002

Pi Patel, a God-loving boy and the son of a zookeeper, has a fervent love of stories and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family and their zoo animals emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship. Alas, the ship sinks — and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi. Can Pi and the tiger find their way to land? Can Pi's fear, knowledge, and cunning keep him alive until they do?

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